Low-tech Innovation [electronic resource] : Competitiveness of the German Manufacturing Sector / edited by Oliver Som, Eva Kirner.

Introduction -- Innovation in Low-Tech Industries: Current Conditions and Future Prospects -- Economic Relevance and the Future Potential of Non-R&D-Intensive Industries -- Patent Activities in Non-R&D-Intensive Technology Areas -- The Development of Qualification and Employment Structures in Non-R&D-Intensive Industry Sectors - The Case of Germany -- The Market Environment and Competitive Factors of Non-R&D-Performing and Non-R&D-Intensive Firms -- Innovation Strategies and Patterns of Non-R&D-Performing and Non-R&D-Intensive Firms -- Non-R&D-Intensive Firms' Innovation Sourcing -- The Absorptive Capacity of Non-R&D-Intensive Firms -- Managing Innovation in Non-R&D-Intensive Firms -- Policy Implications and Future Challenges -- The Economic Relevance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Ability of Non-R&D-Performing and Non-R&D-Intensive Firms: Summary of the Empirical Evidence and Further Outlook.

This book highlights the economic relevance of the so-called low-tech industries and firms. Non R&D intensive firms continue to be the economic backbone of several developed industrial countries. They form the core of National Innovation Systems and contribute significantly to growth and employment. However, due to their lack of R&D activity, they are easily overlooked in the general innovation debate. This book provides latest empirical findings on the current economic relevance and specific innovation strategies and management of non-R&D intensive firms in Germany. It discusses their future role in a knowledge driven economy as well as possible implications for innovation and technology policy. An outcome of several years of dedicated research conducted at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), this book will prove of immense value to researchers and policy makers dealing with innovation and knowledge strategy.